Dedicated SQL pool (Synapse): provisioned compute, fixed cost, predictable perf, your own resources. Serverless: pay per query, auto-scale, no management. Use dedicated for heavy, consistent workloads; serverless for ad-hoc, variable load. Serverless has cold start; dedicated always ready. Cost: dedicated = always-on; serverless = usage-based. **Why it matters**: Design choices compound at scale—wrong approach can cause 100× overhead....
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